New York Islanders Daily: Stephen Gionta Waived

After signing him to play just the other night, the New York Islanders have waived Stephen Gionta. Meaning Casey Cizikas must be ready to return.

It all happened so quickly for the New York Islanders. Their fourth line center, Casey Cizikas, went down with an injury in their win over the San Jose Sharks. It was clear that he wouldn’t be able to go so, the Islanders signed Stephen Gionta to a contract.

The contract came as a surprise because they already have an excess of fourth line bodies. Why wouldn’t they just put Ross Johnston in and then move Leo Komarov, who’s won 66.7 percent of his faceoffs this year, as the fourth line center for the day?

Well, the Islanders elected to play Gionta who was fairly bad. He was a -1, won 44.4 percent of his faceoffs, he had a 40.0 corsi-for percentage in his emergency stint on the fourth line. After just one game, the Islanders waived him.

It was one and done for the veteran Stephen Gionta, who is fairly familiar with Lou Lamoriello from his days in New Jersey. It appears that Cizikas will be ready to go for Wednesday’s game in Anaheim.

Cizikas is a much more impactful player than Gionta is at this point in his career. His impact should be felt on the fourth line as the Martin – Cizikas – Clutterbuck reunion has gone rather well.

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